Rental Codes Draw Crowd at City Council Meeting

On June 16, 2025, the city office was humming with activity. There was a joint meeting with the city council and the utility trustees. Then there was the regular monthly meeting of the city council with the addition of public hearings.

On this night, within the regular meeting there were two public hearings. The Code of Iowa requires that public hearings be held before certain ordinances and resolutions are enacted.

Public hearings are often held by the city council, and the number of citizens who come to inquire about the topic being considered is usually zero. On this night the room was crowded.

The first item getting a public hearing was resolution #460 authorizing a budget amendment for FY 2024-2025. Hearing no citizen questions or comments, it was approved.

The next public hearings were for ordinance #81 the adoption by reference of the 2021 International Building, Residential, and Property Maintenance codes and the State of Iowa Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical codes and ordinance #83 the requirement of rental permits and inspections of rental housing.

Ordinances #81 and #83 were getting their first readings on this night. The people in attendance were there to discuss these two ordinances and were instructed that open forum rules applied and everyone should be respectful. Those in attendance included: Jack Swarm, Marion Harris, Crystal Mortimer, Kevin Bergman, Jen Schwartz, Bob Byczek, Patricia Ewing, Shawn Mears, Doug Boecker, Dave Ford, Todd Sines, Mindy Holliday, Scott Bell, Abbie Liechty, Jessica Miller, Linda Bryant, Merlin Burden, Deb Burden, Noah Burkhart, and John Siegel.

Jack Swarm, the city’s building and rental inspector, and Mayor Miller fielded many of the questions. The questions were far-ranging and covered many topics:

Q. If residential standards are important, why limit them to just rental properties?

A. The city inspects rental properties because the owner isn’t in daily control of the rental property. The state of Iowa gives cities the right to adopt a rental inspection code that are required with a population over 15,000. Inspections assist the disadvantaged in getting basic and fair housing requirements. It also looks out for public safety personnel when they enter the dwelling for service. He noted that owner occupied homes do not get inspected because the state doesn’t authorize it.

Q. Has the city received complaints about the state of a rental property and tenants needing assistance with a landlord?

A. Mayor Miller answered that the city has received complaints.

Q. The $185 rental inspection fee that is agreed upon between the city and the SEI Regional Planning Commission for their services was questioned.

A. The city does not have a building or rental inspector on staff and that was the price agreed upon.

Q. The city has ordinances in place to address nuisances. Why doesn’t the city use these and avoid passing a fee that will impact renters?

A. Mayor Miller stated that currently there are no codes in place that deal with concerns about rental properties.

Q. A renter asked if there was a major issue and the landlord couldn’t afford to fix it immediately, what would that mean for the tenant?

A. Swarm stated the landlord would be given sufficient time to address any major issues unless there was immediate danger to the occupants.

Q. New London doesn’t have a 15,000 population and if you can use the state code to enforce rental dwelling regulations why incorporate it into the city’s code?

A. Regardless of population, the issues are the same with rental properties.

Q. Another question asked was if the plumbing and electrical code applied to new construction or changes in existing properties?

A. Swarm stated that plumbing and electrical codes would apply to new construction, a room addition, or refiguring an existing room. The code does not apply to fixtures such as water heaters, furnaces, toilets, faucets, etc. Anything considered a fixture does not require a permit.

Q. There had been a discussion of lowering the rental inspection fee if landlords had their property inspected within the first year. Tax payers would like to know where the money will come from to make up the disconnected fee.

A. The questioner was instructed by Mayor Miller that he had reached his three minute time limit.

The Q&A was over. Both ordinances, upon roll being called, had their first readings approved unanimously. The council then returned to the regular meeting agenda, and adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming meetings include: